Now, due to popular demand by aides, the White House is moving to incorporate Apple devices into its daily routine. Last month, the information technology office launched a pilot program for the Executive Office of the President that allows Apple-loving staffers to access their official email accounts on their iPads and iPhones through a secure connection, a White House official told POLITICO. The pilot program is expected to run through mid-fall, the official said.

Obama aides, who found themselves in a stodgy PC world when they moved into the West Wing more than two years ago, said the program is part of an effort to update White House technology. It’s difficult to convince federal information technology departments to allow new devices to connect to a government network, mostly because of security concerns, so the pilot program represents a significant step in opening its network to the high-tech world.

Aides stressed that the program does not favor any company’s products. A wide range of equipment is still used: Dell computers are scattered throughout the West Wing, and many staffers rely on BlackBerrys.

Still, the efforts partly reflect Obama’s affinity for the brand. Last month, when Obama left to play a round of golf at Andrews Air Force Base, he carried his iPad. And when he appeared at the White House Twitter town hall in July, he used a MacBook Pro, although the Apple symbol was covered with the presidential seal. He also has an iPod.

“He’s president at a time when Apple is at its high point, so of course the administration is going to reflect that,” a former White House official said. “Mac is considered youthful, and the president is still considered somewhat youthful.”

In a way, the administration is bringing the Mac back. Obama supporters drew an early 2008 primary contrast with Hillary Clinton by casting the former first lady as an obsolete PC and Obama as the fresh new Mac. The narrative was cemented in a 75-second Web video, compiled by an Obama fan, that cast Clinton as “Big Brother” in homage to Apple’s groundbreaking “1984” ad.

“On January 14th, the Democratic Primary will begin. And you’ll see why 2008 won’t be like 1984,” the ad concludes.

“It’s more of what they did the first time around [during the campaign],” said Micah Sifry, who co-founded the Personal Democracy Forum, an organization that analyzes technology and politics. “They want Obama to be seen as cool and with it and as up-to-date as they can.”

For Obama, Apple is not a bad brand to embrace in a weak economy. The company is, after all, one of the country’s biggest economic success stories. In early August, Apple briefly surpassed ExxonMobil as the nation’s most valuable publicly traded company, in terms of market capitalization. The most recent quarter was its best ever, with profit reaching $7.31 billion, up 125 percent from the same period in 2010.

At a time when adding jobs to the economy is so crucial, Apple is something of a poster child for success. Between September 2009 and September 2010, the company added more than 12,000 employees, according to its annual reports.

Page:

CORRECTION: Corrected by: David Cohen @ 09/05/2011 09:19 PM
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story included incorrect information about Android’s participation in the pilot program. Android is not part of the program.